As the finale begins, Pania Cottle (Vanessa Rare) sits outside and cries while holding a picture of her son. Stuart (Peter Elliott) and Annette (Sara Wiseman) go to the bathroom so Annette can flush her medication down the toilet. Esther Ishikawa (Emily Piggford) has spent the night working on the case. After that, Esther gets out and meets with Kath Hines (Tandi Wright). Kath explains she has something for her before telling her about Mother Goose. Maggie Cabbott (Rachelle Lefevre) is still shaken up and can’t forget everything Tom (Matt Whelan) said to her during their argument. She watches as a boat cruises past and a body is placed in a vehicle nearby. Pania freaks out while Ru (Tainui Tukiwaho) approaches authorities.

Ru does his best to comfort Pania while Maggie reminds Jack (Matt Nable) that he told her she should try to make amends. Tracy (Emma Fenton) tells Charlene (Emily Mackenzie) there is something gone on with the widow but Charlene says it was between Zoe and her husband. Esther overhears them talking about Tom and the cop’s daughter so she squeezes in and asks them about it. Charlene believes there is something up with Maggie too since healthy people wouldn’t send stuff to a medical lab. Esther asks where she sent it. The kids ask Hannah (Morgana O’Reilly) about Ru singing with Pania. Esther calls the lab and tries to find out more about the test results while Pilau (Nikki Si’ulepa) asks Ru how he is doing. She asks him who goes up to the spot where Ryan’s body was found before Jack arrives and offers Ru a lift home.

Esther negotiates with the medical clinic until Pilau arrives. Pilau wants to know about the suspicious death of Ryan but Esther says she is only interested in Tom. Meanwhile, Tom makes it to land and tries to break into cars. He finds a set of keys sitting on a tie and steals a vehicle. Next, Frank Cabbott (John Bach) talks to Esther who doesn’t think Tom did everything on his own. Nate (Josh McKenzie) claims it is nonsense since Esther doesn’t have any proof. Nate doesn’t believe Tom would steal their money and fake his death but Frank believes Maggie could do it. Maggie goes to Stuart and tells him that the fishery should belong to the locals. She wants to give him her shares. She says everyone should have a piece before Annette interrupts and tells her husband that they need to go.

Stuart tries to find out why Maggie changed her mind but she won’t tell him. Maggie goes to Pania who says she finally feels close to Ryan now. She admits she should’ve stopped fighting it because it only gave the locals another reason to hate her. Then, she claims she drove him away but Maggie says it wasn’t her fault. Maggie wants to tell her something important. Once they’ve had time to reflect on what has happened, Pania accepts Maggie back and gives her a hug. Annette rides into town to tell Jack that she is going away to rehab. Jack wants to make sure she is going to keep their secret but she says she has kept it all of these years and he can’t ask any more of her. She asks Jack if it has been worth it for Zoe. When Annette leaves, Pilau tells Jack she wants a minute with him.

She wants to know more about the discovery of Ryan’s body. She doesn’t believe Jack is telling her everything but says she isn’t accusing him of anything. Seconds later, Maggie checks her mailbox and finds it empty. She speaks to the cashier and explains she had a package delivered to her box and the only other person with a key was her husband. The man confirms that they do not have security cameras. Maggie steps outside and contemplates calling Jack but doesn’t while Maggie continues trying to get the test results. She gets the results on her computer moments later. Frank calls Maggie and threatens to spend the rest of his life hunting her down if he finds out she messed with his family. He says nothing she can imagine will match how far he is willing to go before the call ends.

After that, Esther runs into Maggie at the store and is semi-nice to her for a change. Maggie admits she is thinking about sailing away so Esther accuses her of planning to run off with Tom and collect the $160 million. Esther claims she is going to find out how they did it soon and Maggie is going to tell her or she will tell Frank about the baby. Maggie admits she didn’t know her husband as well as she thought before telling Esther about her husband’s drug abuse. Then, she lets Esther know that she has handed the business over to Stuart. She reminds her that she doesn’t want anything to do with the Cabbotts. She pleads with Esther not to tell Frank about the baby because he will take her.

Esther asks Maggie why she hates him so much so Maggie encourages her to search Frank’s finances four years back and find a payment to a woman named Ann-Marie O’Ryan. Jack sits down with Pilau while Esther searches through Frank’s finances. After that, Esther begins looking for Maggie by visiting her room. She turns around and finds Tom staring at her. Maggie goes to the restaurant and asks Hannah if she can have a moment with Bella. Hannah tells her that she loved having her around. Maggie tells her to let Jack know she has been trying to get in touch with him. Maggie goes to the docks and gets on a boat. She goes to the living area and notices the closet doors ajar. When she turns around, she finds Tom standing behind her.

Tom says he should be the one who is scared since his wife left him for dead. Pilau questions Jack about Ryan’s suicide. She says he had a wound on his face and no residue on his hands so she thinks it might not have been a suicide. Jack admits he was taking Ryan supplies but says he was the last person who would want to hurt Ryan. Maggie tells Tom they should get away from there so nobody sees them. She asks Tom about taking the passport and knowing where the money is. Tom goes on to say it is about true and he had it in her but she never trusted him. Maggie grabs her purse and tells Tom about a name and address in Rarotonga. She explains he should look under Environmental Services in her contacts. She tells Tom he needs a doctor and that they’ll be able to find one up north.

Tom admits he thought he was going to have a fight on his hands and Maggie says she thought she killed him. Tom believes that is what it took to win her back before telling her to cast them off. Maggie steers the boat while Jack tries to convince Pilau he did not kill Ryan. She tells him they’re getting tests run on the gun and she’ll be in touch. When the conversation ends, Jack checks his phone and finds several missed calls from Maggie. Meanwhile, the boat continues moving and Tom comes up and sits nearby. Maggie tells her husband that Esther was onto them and the baby but Tom doesn’t think she is anything to worry about now. He tells Maggie to cut the engine and she does. Seconds later, Maggie learns that Tom has Esther tied up on the boat.

Jack teams up with Kath so they can go after Maggie while Tom tries to take care of the Esther problem. Maggie tries to convince him that the money doesn’t matter but Tom doesn’t want her to have a change of heart this late. When Maggie distracts Tom, Esther attacks him from behind and they try to escape. Tom stays on the boat while Maggie and Esther try to swim to safety. Jack and Kath search through the night before Maggie and Esther hear a boat engine in the distance. They’re rescued a short time later. Later that night, Jack comforts Maggie. The following day, Tom’s boat is discovered but nobody is found onboard. Maggie tells Jack that her husband will be long gone by now. Jack tells her that they’re the only ones who know it was Tom but says Esther knows and the Cabbotts won’t want the police involved.

Jack encourages her to tell authorities that Esther went overboard and she jumped in to save her. Maggie apologizes for dragging Jack into this but he says he brought it on himself. He confesses he might not get out of this one before Pilau arrives at the door. Jack tells Maggie she has done what she can and can disappear now. Maggie goes to the hospital and runs into Kath. She learns that Esther is going to be fine and has been annoying nurses already. Maggie checks on her and admits she is glad Esther is going to be okay. Esther tells her that there was no payment to Ann before asking who she is. Maggie says it was the mother of the baby they had to give back and Tom told her Frank paid her to take the baby back.

They chat about how bad that hurt and Esther tells Maggie she should probably leave the country. Maggie tells Esther she is a good person before leaving the hospital. Then, we join Tom who drives up to a big building. He meets with Julia Manaia who calls him Mr. O’Connell. He asks her if they’re going to do it here but she says his funds were released this morning. Julia says his wife thought this might happen and his wife said he had been unwell. Maggie calls Pania and asks her if she got the money. Pania did and enjoys a vacation but Maggie isn’t coming to meet her. Maggie encourages her to stick with the plan because she can do a lot of good in Ryan’s name. She also says she is ready for them to come after her.

 

The Sounds Review

Overall, The Sounds got a bit better as it went on and the characters started growing on me but it never really hit its stride. The series was just too difficult to believe and some of the acting was flat when it needed to be elevated the most. In the end, I think the writers made everything a bit too easy for Maggie because they completely ignored everything she has done.

Are we really supposed to believe that Tom was such an incompetent twerp and Jack would ignore Maggie’s crimes? The acting from the two main actresses and actors was a bit shaky from time to time. At points, it felt like Tom wasn’t concerned at all even though he was going through one of the most difficult times of his life.

The series wasn’t terrible and did show real potential at times. Still, I think it could’ve been so much better. They should’ve sliced it in half and cut it down to 5 or 6 episodes. That would’ve eliminated the unnecessary filler that really didn’t matter in the long run anyway. It had some good moments and there is nothing else left to watch so it might be worth your time. The finale scores a 6.5 out of 10. You can find previous recaps of The Sounds on Reel Mockery.